IFF vs. VMC: Intl Flavors & Fragrances vs. Vulcan Materials Stock Comparison

November 11, 2026

How do Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC) stack up? This page sets them side by side across company profile, performance and risk, profitability, growth, financial strength, dividends, and valuation, with selected fundamentals also measured against each stock's industry-group peers.

Company Profile

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC) both fall under the Materials industry group, but IFF is classified in Chemicals while VMC is classified in Construction Materials.

Company profile comparison for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Profile Item	IFF	VMC
Name	International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc.	Vulcan Materials Company
Country/Region	United States	United States
GICS Sector	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry Group	Materials	Materials
GICS Industry	Chemicals	Construction Materials
GICS Sub-Industry	Specialty Chemicals	Construction Materials
Market Capitalization	20.69 billion USD	36.29 billion USD
Currency	USD	USD
Exchange	NYSE	NYSE
Listing Date	December 17, 1974	February 21, 1973
Security Type	Common Stock	Common Stock

Price Performance

Cumulative Growth

IFF

VMC

GSPC

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Growth of a $10,000 investment over the past five years. Adjusted for dividends and splits.

Trailing Returns

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Trailing total returns for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC). Returns over one year are annualized.

Calendar-Year Returns

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Calendar-year total returns for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC). Each bar is that year's total return, measured year-end to year-end.

Performance Metrics

Price performance metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Metric	IFF	VMC
Total Return (1Y)	40.13%	2.25%
Total Return (3Y, Annualized)	8.28%	12.53%
Total Return (5Y, Annualized)	-8.71%	8.08%

Risk Profile

Drawdown History

IFF

VMC

GSPC

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC), with S&P 500 (GSPC) for reference: Drawdown from the running peak over the past five years. Each line shows the decline from its prior peak; 0% marks a new high.

Return Distribution

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Distribution of monthly total returns for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC). Each bar is the share of months whose return fell in that 5% bucket.

Risk Metrics

Risk profile metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Metric	IFF	VMC
Volatility (1Y, Annualized)	36.26%	30.13%
Beta (5Y)	0.88	0.98
Max Drawdown (5Y)	-56.66%	-32.50%
Avg. Volume (3M)	1.88M	1.16M

Risk-Adjusted Performance

Risk-Return Positioning

IFF and VMC are plotted by 1-year volatility (risk) and 1-year return. The dashed Capital Allocation Line runs from the risk-free rate through the shared industry median.

Risk-Adjusted Metrics

Risk-adjusted metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Metric	IFF	VMC
Sharpe Ratio (1Y)	0.99	-0.07
Sortino Ratio (1Y)	1.71	-0.09

Profitability

ROE (TTM)

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) reports a negative ROE of -7.37%; negative ROE can reflect losses or negative shareholders’ equity, so it is harder to read as capital efficiency. Meanwhile Vulcan Materials (VMC) reports 12.88%, ranking against industry peers normally.

IFF

Materials industry group

-7.37%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
IFF: -7.37%
Min: -32.81%

VMC

Materials industry group

12.88%

Max: 52.88%
Q3: 19.49%
VMC: 12.88%
Median: 8.76%
Q1: -3.41%
Min: -32.81%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their ROE against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Net Margin (TTM)

Both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.68% and Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 13.78% keep about the typical share of revenue as profit for their industries — neither bottom line stands out from peers.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.68%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
Median: 5.28%
IFF: 1.68%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

VMC

Materials industry group

13.78%

Max: 38.66%
Q3: 15.98%
VMC: 13.78%
Median: 5.28%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: -20.40%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their net margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Operating Margin (TTM)

Both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 9.53% and Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 23.95% run core operations about as efficiently as their industries’ norm — neither stands out on operating profitability.

IFF

Materials industry group

9.53%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
Median: 12.56%
IFF: 9.53%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

VMC

Materials industry group

23.95%

Max: 66.70%
Q3: 28.92%
VMC: 23.95%
Median: 12.56%
Q1: 3.28%
Min: -14.07%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their operating margin against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Profitability Metrics

Profitability metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Metric	IFF	VMC
ROE (TTM)	-7.37%	12.88%
ROA (TTM)	2.18%	5.89%
Net Margin (TTM)	1.68%	13.78%
Operating Margin (TTM)	9.53%	23.95%
Gross Margin (TTM)	36.27%	27.48%

Growth

Revenue Growth

Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 7.06% is around its peer norm for revenue growth, while Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at -5.17% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker demand or pricing momentum.

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their Revenue Growth across different time periods.

EPS Growth

Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 18.39% is around its peer norm for EPS growth, while Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at -248.42% drops into the bottom quartile, signaling weaker earnings momentum.

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their EPS Growth across different time periods.

Growth Metrics

Growth metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Metric	IFF	VMC
Revenue Growth (YoY)	-5.17%	7.06%
Revenue Growth (3Y CAGR)	-4.34%	2.77%
EPS Growth (YoY)	-248.42%	18.39%
EPS Growth (3Y CAGR)	--	23.46%

Financial Strength

Current Ratio (MRQ)

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.87 keeps current ratio within its industry’s typical mid-range, while Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 1.43 runs in the tighter-liquidity quartile — a thinner cushion against current liabilities for VMC.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.87

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
IFF: 1.87
Q1: 1.45
Min: 0.16

VMC

Materials industry group

1.43

Max: 5.96
Q3: 3.30
Median: 2.24
Q1: 1.45
VMC: 1.43
Min: 0.16

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their current ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Debt / Equity (MRQ)

Both Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 0.51 and Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 0.63 fund their balance sheets with roughly industry-typical debt-to-equity mixes.

IFF

Materials industry group

0.51

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
IFF: 0.51
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

VMC

Materials industry group

0.63

Max: 1.98
Q3: 0.89
VMC: 0.63
Median: 0.47
Q1: 0.13
Min: 0.00

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their debt-to-equity ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Financial Strength Metrics

Financial strength metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Metric	IFF	VMC
Current Ratio (MRQ)	1.87	1.43
Debt / Equity (MRQ)	0.51	0.63
Net Debt / EBITDA	3.51	2.27

Dividends

Dividend Yield (TTM)

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.85% delivers top-quartile income for its industry, while Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 0.72% pays a more typical yield — both are credible income propositions, IFF the richer one.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.85%

Max: 4.52%
IFF: 1.85%
Q3: 1.85%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

VMC

Materials industry group

0.72%

Max: 4.52%
Q3: 1.85%
VMC: 0.72%
Median: 0.38%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their dividend yield against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)

Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 24.26% pays out a band-typical share of earnings, while Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 62.26% distributes more than its industry norm — less retained, thinner cover.

IFF

Materials industry group

62.26%

Max: 83.62%
IFF: 62.26%
Q3: 41.37%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

VMC

Materials industry group

24.26%

Max: 83.62%
Q3: 41.37%
VMC: 24.26%
Median: 9.54%
Q1: 0.00%
Min: 0.00%

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their payout ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Dividend Metrics

Dividend metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Metric	IFF	VMC
Dividend Yield (TTM)	1.85%	0.72%
Dividend Payout Ratio (TTM)	62.26%	24.26%

Valuation

P/E Ratio (TTM)

Both look expensive on trailing earnings: Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 33.46 sits in the richer P/E ratio quartile, and Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 236.06 is richer still, above its industry range.

IFF

Materials industry group

236.06

IFF: 236.06
Max: 59.00
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

VMC

Materials industry group

33.46

Max: 59.00
VMC: 33.46
Q3: 32.93
Median: 18.82
Q1: 11.96
Min: 3.93

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their P/E ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/S Ratio (TTM)

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.91 is priced about in line with its industry on P/S ratio, while Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 4.53 sits in the pricier quartile — VMC costs more per dollar of sales.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.91

Max: 9.62
Q3: 4.34
IFF: 1.91
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

VMC

Materials industry group

4.53

Max: 9.62
VMC: 4.53
Q3: 4.34
Median: 1.87
Q1: 0.73
Min: 0.00

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their P/S ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

P/B Ratio (MRQ)

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) at 1.56 is valued about in line with its industry on P/B ratio, while Vulcan Materials (VMC) at 4.31 carries an above-peer premium to book — VMC is pricier on assets.

IFF

Materials industry group

1.56

Max: 6.59
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
IFF: 1.56
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

VMC

Materials industry group

4.31

Max: 6.59
VMC: 4.31
Q3: 3.55
Median: 2.08
Q1: 1.26
Min: -0.17

Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) vs. Vulcan Materials (VMC): A comparison of their P/B ratio against the Materials industry group benchmark.

Valuation Metrics

Valuation metrics for Intl Flavors & Fragrances (IFF) and Vulcan Materials (VMC)
Metric	IFF	VMC
P/E Ratio (TTM)	236.06	33.46
P/S Ratio (TTM)	1.91	4.53
P/B Ratio (MRQ)	1.56	4.31
Free Cash Flow Yield (TTM)	-10.66%	1.96%